The Reassuring Data on the Delta Variant: There’s no sign of a surge in hospitalization or severe illness, and the vaccines remain extremely effective.

You read the same alarming headlines every few months, now with Greek letters. As the virus that causes Covid-19 evolves and mutates, the same concerns pop up about whether the variant evades vaccines, makes people sicker than the old versions, and increases transmissibility. What we know about the Delta variant is reassuring.

One of the most important questions is whether vaccines are still working well. The best way to answer that is to look at the number of vaccinated people getting serious Covid-19 symptoms or being hospitalized. A new study from the U.K. found that vaccines are still incredibly effective at preventing serious illness with the Delta variant circulating. The Pfizer vaccine was 96% effective after two doses at preventing hospitalization, meaning the average unvaccinated person in the study was more than 25 times as likely to be hospitalized with Covid as the average vaccinated one. (This almost certainly understates the protectiveness of the vaccine, as the vaccinated cohort was older and had a higher incidence of pre-existing conditions than the unvaccinated one.)

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine produces strong neutralizing antibodies and cellular responses against the Delta variant, still present eight months after administration.

Studies from Canada and the U.K. show 79% to 87% effectiveness against symptomatic infection with the Delta variant. On July 8 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration asserted their confidence in the vaccines. They jointly announced that no boosters are necessary at this time.

This is all excellent news, as is the finding that 99% of hospitalizations for Covid-19 are among unvaccinated people. The vaccines are as good as first heralded, even against new variants. That unvaccinated people are still being hospitalized underscores the continuing need to get as many people vaccinated as possible.

A fully Pfizer-vaccinated co-worker was hospitalized last Saturday for Delta variant. He’s 50-yr. old, no fat, body builder former Marine. He used to talk S about ‘only pussies go to the hospital for a cold’. Lol. He was out the next day but there’s that.

....Anecdotal of course.

RE: The (3) mutations that distinguish Delta from other strains, all seem to enhance transmission and and immune system avoidance. There are no changes that effect how deadly it is.

Well, Dr. Peter McCullough, Professor of Medicine. Vice Chief of Internal Medicine. Baylor University Medical Center says this:

“The Delta variant is the mildest one we’ve seen so far, and even though it’ll proportionately take up a greater number of cases – and we expect this in the United States – it has a very low mortality, appears to be the most treatable strain that we’ve seen so far,” he said Monday in an interview with Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle,” which was guest-hosted by Ben Domenech.

See here:

https://sgtreport.tv/

Also, Dr. Harvey Risch of the Yale School of Public Health said there’s no way to stop the spread of the Delta variant, and its spread actually will be helpful, because it is mild and will enhance herd immunity.

“This is a very mild variant, and the cases are going to go up … whereas at the same time the mortality is flat, near zero,” Risch said.

“So basically what the reaction to is a flu or a bad cold for most people who get it.”

RE: We are talking about case fatality rate - how deadly is the Delta strain if you do catch it, compared to another strain.

I will grant that the vaccinated are less likely to be infected with the Delta Variant ( how much more less likely, the data still needs to be analyzed ).

I also want to compare the severity of infection between those who caught Delta after being vaccinated versus the unvaccinated.

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